Developing Canadian talent

A tax acted as the spark that lit the American Revolution. The reviled Tea Tax of 1773 was regarded as yet another attempt by the British Parliament to squash American freedom.

And, in France about the same time, a tax on salt became the most hated levy in the country. The Ògabelle” is regarded as one of the root causes of the dissatisfaction that led to the French Revolution.

If thereÕs anything that can get people up in arms, itÕs taxes. But here in Canada, the historical literature says little about the violence and drama of tax resistance.

ÒHave struggles around taxation played so little part in forming CanadaÕs political culture?” asks Dalhousie history professor Shirley Tillotson.

She suspects there's something more to it, which is why sheÕll be studying the cultural history of taxation in greater depth, thanks to a three-year, $88,900 standard research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Paying taxes, she says, is a monetary expression of the values we hold as a nation. And, when someone announces, ÒIÕm a taxpayer,” what theyÕre really saying is that they have the right to speak and be heard. Paying taxes also infers rights.

Dr. TillotsonÕs research is just one of the research projects at Dalhousie to be supported by SSHRC. The federal funding agency announced $77.8 million in standard research grants in Canada, including $804,000 for research at Dalhousie. All told, the investment supports some 2,800 research projects, including 841 new projects involving 1,581 researchers across the country.

Jennifer Bain, Associate Professor in the Department of Music, is one of the Dalhousie professors to get a boost from SSHRC. She is doing research on the music of Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century abbess and composer. In the past, HildegardÕs ethereal music was championed by two parish priests in a small German town, and much more recently, by New Age musicians. ÒHildegardÕs music has been appropriated by these New Agey types, but itÕs this earlier revival, the one in the 19th century, that I find intriguing,” she says. Dr. Bain will use her three-year, $25,000 grant to travel to Germany to view original manuscripts, to present at an international conference in Zurich, and to hire a research assistant.

This yearÕs recipients of standard research grants will undertake research across a broad spectrum of the humanities and social sciences, including history, education, politics, economics, law and literature. Other researchers at Dal receiving standard research grants include:

• Jennifer Bain, Assistant Professor Music, for research on Medieval composer, Hildegard von Bingen, a 12th-century abbess and arguably the worldÕs first woman composer.
• Yuri Leving, Assistant Professor of Russian, for a project entitled ÒBecoming a Great Writer.” HeÕll examine how Vladimir Nabokov, best known as the writer of Lolita, transformed himself from an emigre professor into a best-selling author.
• Marjorie Stone, Professor of English and WomenÕs Studies, for three major projects focusing on the influential 19th-century English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
• Elizabeth Kay-Raining Bird, Professor, School of Human Communications Disorders, for her ongoing study of the language abilities of bilingual children with Down Syndrome.
• Patricia Glazebrook, Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy, for research into the role of women in Ghana's agricultural economy.
• Stephen Porter, Associate Professor, Dept. of Psychology, for ÒDangerous Decisions: Investigations of the Communication and Identification of Concealed and Fabricated Emotions.”
• Fiona Black, Associate Professor, School of Information Management, for ÒInvestigating Complexity in Information Systems: The Example of Print Culture and Geographic Information Systems.”
• Bertrum MacDonald, Professor, School of Information Management, and Peter Wells, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, for ÒFrom Science to Policy and Decision-Making: Investigating the Use and Impact of Grey Literature of National and International Governmental Agencies Focused on the Environment”
• Michael Ungar, Associate Professor, School of Social Work, for research on the protective processes used by children growing up in difficult environments. For more information on Dr. Ungar's work, see the story: Manageable Risk.

SSHRC is an independent federal government agency that funds university-based research and graduate training through national peer-reviewed competitions.